Praying Mantis

Soon after setting up the greenhouse both a male and female female praying mantis moved in.

One day we couldn't find the female, and I told Bode to look for her.  I said that she might be laying some eggs.

I'm not sure why I said that.

He found her.

And she really was laying eggs.

Right then.

And it only happens once a year.

The whole process took about an hour, and they won't hatch until spring.

Here she is, hard at work.

I did some googling to find out more, and it seems that sometimes the female eats the male, starting with the head first, after laying the eggs.

And sure enough, about ten days later we saw this.

Poor guy.

So now we're down to one pet.

But in the spring, we should have hundreds more.

Evidently the babies might eat each other too.